| Iron Gold: A Red Rising Novel by Pierce BrownStarring: slave-turned-statesman Darrow, a lowly Red whose uprising against Mars' Gold elite led to the establishment of the Solar Republic -- and an endless war.
Series alert: This spinoff of the Red Rising trilogy takes place ten years after the events of Morning Star. However, newcomers should start at the beginning with Red Rising.
Read it for: a dystopian outer space setting, a unique color-coded caste system, and an action-packed plot rife with warfare and political intrigue. |
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| A War in Crimson Embers by Alex MarshallWhat it's about: Once a hero, now a pariah, warrior Zosia rounds up her far-flung former comrades-in-arms in an attempt to right past wrongs and redeem herself.
For fans of: the potent mix of extreme violence and sardonic humor found in Joe Abercrombie's First Law books.
Series alert: A War in Crimson Embers concludes the Crimson Empire trilogy, which begins with A Crown for Cold Silver, followed by A Blade of Black Steel. |
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| The Night Market by Jonathan MooreWhat it's about: Responding to a late-night call, San Francisco homicide detectives arrive at the scene of the crime to find it crawling with FBI agents in hazmat suits. Then things get really weird.
Is it for you? Equal parts dystopian SF, noir, and conspiracy thriller, this genre-bending novel boasts a menacing atmosphere and a twisty plot. Think Philip K. Dick meets the X Files.
Should you start here? You can! The 3rd installment of a loose trilogy, The Night Market stands on its own. |
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| The Will to Battle by Ada PalmerWhat it's about: Ex-convict Mycroft Canner discovers the high cost of peace as his world -- a 25th-century utopian society in which philosophical Hives have replaced nation-states -- begins to collapse.
Series alert: Due to the complexity of this 3rd Terra Ignota novel, readers should begin at the beginning with Too Like the Lightning.
Try this next: For another thought-provoking blend of Western philosophy and science fiction, try Jo Walton's Just City novels, which envision a society based on the principles of Plato's Republic. |
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Lovecraft country : a novel by Matt RuffBlends multiple genres in a visceral exploration of the Jim Crow era and its legacy, tracing the story of young Army vet Atticus Turner, who in 1954 Chicago travels with his publisher uncle and childhood friend to search for his missing father only to encounter human and supernatural terrors at the estate of a descendant of slave owners.
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It's Complicated (Romantic Relationships)
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| Burn For Me: A Hidden Legacy Novel by Ilona AndrewsWhat it's about: A pyrokinetic "Prime" is on the loose, using powerful magic to incinerate anyone or anything that stands in his way. As private investigator Nevada Baylor tries to stop him, she finds an unlikely ally in Connor "Mad" Rogan, a billionaire with dark powers of his own.
Why you might like it: Straddling the line between urban fantasy and paranormal romantic suspense, this steamy series starter asks: can your enemy's enemy be your friend-with-benefits (and more)?
You might also like: Although they feature a lighter tone and a snarkier heroine, Darynda Jones' Charley Davidson novels also pair a tough private eye and a hot but dangerous alpha male. |
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| The Heart Goes Last: A Novel by Margaret AtwoodWhat it's about: In exchange for a secure middle-class existence, downwardly mobile couple Charmaine and Stan become subjects in an unusual social experiment that will put their relationship to the test.
Why you might like it: No one does chilling yet slyly satirical literary dystopia like Handmaid's Tale author Margaret Atwood.
For fans of: sardonic, keenly observed novels of formerly middle-class individuals adjusting to the harsh realities of late capitalism, such as Karl Taro Greenfeld's The Subprimes or Lionel Shriver's The Mandibles |
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Darkfever by Karen Marie MoningMac is stunned to discover that her sister's murder had been far more than a random act of violence and resents the awakening of a mysterious ability to sense the Fae and their talismans, a talent that sends her on a quest to find the Sinsar Dubh, a mystical book of dark power, and to insure that it cannot fall into the wrong hands. Series Alert: Darkfever is the first of series of 10 urban fantasy/paranormal romance books so far about MacKayla Lane set in Dublin
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Magic to the bone by Devon MonkWhen Allison Beckstrom, a Hound who makes people pay for casting spells, discovers a little boy dying from a magic Offload that has her father's signature all over it, she is plunged into a high-stakes world of corporate espionage and black magic. Original. Series alert : Magic to the Bone is the first in the Allie Beckstrom urban fantasy/paranormal romance series
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| Love Minus Eighty by Will McIntoshWhat it's about: If you're a beautiful but uninsured young woman who's facing terminal illness, your best bet is to become a "bridesicle." Of course, you'll be cryogenically frozen until a wealthy man opts to pay for your treatment in exchange for becoming his wife.
You might also like: Andri Snaer Magnason's Lovestar or Chris Adrian's The New World, both of which explore issues of economic inequality as they depict futuristic technologies that create more problems than they solve when applied to personal relationships. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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